CircZNF609 inhibits miR-150-5p to promote high glucose-induced damage to retinal microvascular endothelial cells.

Hyperglycemia is a key contributor to diabetic macrovascular and ocular complications. It triggers a cascade of cellular damage, particularly in the retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMECs). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain only partially understood. This study hypothesizes that CircZNF609 plays a pivotal role in mediating high glucose-induced damage in RMECs by modulating miR-150-5p and its downstream target genes, thereby affecting cellular survival, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Gene expression datasets (GSE193974 and GSE160308) and clinical samples were used to investigate the expression levels of CircZNF609 and its interaction with miR-150-5p in the context of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Our results demonstrate that CircZNF609 is upregulated in both peripheral blood stem cells from DR patients and high glucose-stimulated hRMECs. Functional experiments reveal that silencing CircZNF609 improves cell viability, reduces apoptosis, inhibits tube formation, and modulates oxidative stress markers, whereas CircZNF609 overexpression exacerbates these effects. Moreover, miR-150-5p, a microRNA, was found to be negatively regulated by CircZNF609 and downregulated in DR. Its overexpression mitigates high glucose-induced cell injury. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism whereby CircZNF609 exacerbates high glucose-induced endothelial cell damage by sponging miR-150-5p, implicating the CircZNF609/miR-150-5p axis as a potential therapeutic target in diabetic retinopathy.

Achieving excitation wavelength-power-dependent colorful luminescence via multiplexing of dual lanthanides in fluorine oxide particles for multilevel anticounterfeiting.

The optical characteristics of multimode luminescent materials like multimode luminescence (photoluminescence, afterglow, thermoluminescence) and a multi-excitation source (light, thermal, mechanical force) play crucial roles in optical data storage and readout, document security and anticounterfeiting. A higher level of advanced anticounterfeiting may rely on multimode anticounterfeiting materials that can realize multicolor luminescence. Here, a highly integrated multimode and multicolor Y7O6F9:Er3+,Eu3+ material is developed through multiplexing of dual lanthanides in fluorine oxide particles. In photoluminescence and photoluminescence/up-conversion luminescence modes, the material Y7O6F9:Er3+,Eu3+ has the characteristic of excitation wavelength and power dependence. In the photoluminescence mode, under excitation at 254 nm and 365 nm, Y7O6F9:Er3+ and Y7O6F9:Eu3+ showed bright red and green emissions, respectively. In the photoluminescence/up-conversion mode, under the increased excitation power from 0.2 to 2.0 W cm-2, the color of luminescence emission can be finely tuned from red to orange, yellow and green. Taking this unique excitation wavelength-power-dependent luminescence property into account, a multilevel anticounterfeiting device with the Lily pattern was designed. The device readily integrates the advantages of the excitation wavelength-dependent photoluminescence emissions and excitation power-dependent photoluminescence emissions in one overall device. These findings offer unique insight for designing highly integrated multimode, multicolor luminescence materials and advanced anticounterfeiting technology toward a wide variety of applications, particularly multilevel anticounterfeiting devices.

A Smartphone-Based Sensing for Portable and Sensitive Visual Detection of Hg (II) via Nitrogen Doped Carbon Quantum Dots Modified Paper Strip.

The development of portable and cost-effective sensing system for Hg2+ quantitation is highly demanded for environmental monitoring. Herein, an on-site, rapid and portable smartphone readout device based Hg2+ sensing system integrating nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCDs) modified paper strip was proposed, and the physicochemical properties of NCDs were characterized by high resolution TEM, FTIR, UV-vis absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectral analysis. The modified paper strip was prepared via "ink-jet" printing technology and exhibits sensitive fluorescence response to Hg2+ with fluorescence color of bright blue (at the excitation/emission wavelength of 365/440 nm). This portable smartphone-based sensing platform is highly selective and sensitive to Hg2+ with the limit of detection (LOD) of 10.6 nM and the concentration range of 0-130 nM. In addition, the recoveries of tap water and local lake water were in the range of 89.4% to 109%. The cost-effective sensing system based on smartphone shows a great potential for trace amounts of Hg2+ monitoring in environmental water samples.

Insights into blue-light activated red-emitting persistent luminescence from Pr3+-doped phosphors.

In recent years, a series of persistent luminescence materials excitable by blue light have been developed and widely used in many fields such as optical information storage, AC-LEDs, anti-counterfeiting and bio-imaging. However, it is still a long-standing challenge to develop a superior red-emitting persistent phosphor that can be efficiently excited by blue light. In this work, a novel blue-light excited red-emitting persistent phosphor CaCd2Ga2Ge3O12:Pr3+ was successfully synthesized by using a solid-state method, showing excellent luminescence properties. Moreover, the phase purity, crystal structure, photoluminescence spectra, afterglow emission spectra, and three-dimensional thermoluminescence spectrum were successfully investigated. Under 294 nm excitation, photoluminescence spectra show a single orange emission and a series of peaks centered at 492, 537, 568, 614 and 664 nm, which correspond to the 3P0 → 3H4, 3P0 → 3H5, 3P2 → 3H6, 1D2 → 3H4, and 3P0 → 3F2 transitions of Pr3+, respectively. Interestingly, after blue light excitation, the afterglow luminescence exhibits red long emission, which is attributed to the 1D2 → 3H4 transition of Pr3+. Through thermoluminescence spectra and three-dimensional thermoluminescence spectra, we analyze the reasons for the different colors of photoluminescence and afterglow luminescence. The results imply that there are two types of traps, and the depth of shallow traps and deep traps is calculated to be 0.684 and 0.776 eV, respectively. It is worth noting that the photoluminescence is attributed to the 4f2 → 4f5d and f → f transitions of Pr3+, and the afterglow luminescence is ascribed to a tunneling-related process and the transition of electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. The obtained red-emitting persistent phosphors provide a promising pathway toward AC-LEDs, multi-cycle bio-imaging and other fields.

Multi-mode anti-counterfeiting guarantees from a single material CaCd2Ga2Ge3O12:Tb3+,Yb3+ - two stimuli-responsive and four-state emission.

Luminescent anti-counterfeiting materials have drawn much attention in anti-counterfeiting applications due to their photochemical stability and emission patterns. However, conventional materials majorly use single-mode luminescence, leaving a growing demand for new materials to prevent counterfeiting. In this work, multi-mode anti-counterfeiting is guaranteed from a single luminescent material CaCd2Ga2Ge3O12:Tb3+,Yb3+via a high-temperature solid-state reaction. The experimental result showed that this single material features green luminescence with excellent photoluminescence, afterglow, thermoluminescence, and up-conversion luminescence, which are ascribed to Tb3+ transitions. Upon co-doping with Yb3+ as a sensitiser, the photo-stimuli responsiveness was achieved at 254 and 980 nm excitation sources, respectively, and the thermo-stimuli responsiveness was realised after exposure to UV of 254 nm for 10 s and heating at 45 °C, respectively. The band structure calculation, trap distribution, and effective trap depths were used to explain the luminescence mechanism. Based on the two-stimuli responsiveness and four-state emission performance, we prepared images of optical devices using silk screen printing technology. It was found that the images displayed green emission under different luminescence modes. The results prove that we successfully constructed an advanced luminescence anti-counterfeiting material.

Multimodal and Multicolor Anti-counterfeiting Realized in CaCd2Ga2Ge3O12 with a Single Activator of Mn2.

The continuously growing significance of information security and authentication has put forward many new requirements and challenges for modern luminescent materials and anti-counterfeiting technologies. Recently, luminescent materials have attracted much attention in this field owing to their legibility, repeatability, multicolor, and multiple stimuli-responsive nature. In this work, the efficient multicolor and multimodal luminescence material CaCd2Ga2Ge3O12:Mn2+ was successfully designed and synthesized using the strategy of single-doped Mn2+ in a single matrix. Also, we combined the morphology, crystal structure, energy band calculation, luminescence properties, and trap analysis to study the optical data storage capacity of CaCd2Ga2Ge3O12:Mn2+. Interestingly, in the presence of the 254 nm UV lamp, the sample can exhibit a tunable emission color from bule to cyan to yellow by increasing the dopant concentration of Mn2+. Also, under the afterglow and thermoluminescence luminescence modes, it presented strong yellow emission centered at 558 nm. Based on the advantage of multiple tunable luminescence, samples were made into anti-counterfeiting ink and were used to print four optical devices through the screen printing technology. The results show that the material has excellent multicolor anti-counterfeiting properties under the three luminescence modes, which has contributed to the development of many kinds of luminescent anti-counterfeiting materials for security purposes.

DBD Plasma Combined with Different Foam Metal Electrodes for CO2 Decomposition: Experimental Results and DFT Validations.

In the last few years, due to the large amount of greenhouse gas emissions causing environmental issue like global warming, methods for the full consumption and utilization of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) have attracted great attention. In this study, a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) coaxial reactor has been developed and applied to split CO2 into industrial fuel carbon monoxide (CO). Different packing materials (foam Fe, Al, and Ti) were placed into the discharge gap of the DBD reactor, and then CO2 conversion was investigated. The effects of power, flow velocity, and other discharge characteristics of CO2 conversion were studied to understand the influence of the filling catalysts on CO2 splitting. Experimental results showed that the filling of foam metals in the reactor caused changes in discharge characteristics and discharge patterns, from the original filamentary discharge to the current filamentary discharge as well as surface discharge. Compared with the maximum CO2 conversion of 21.15% and energy efficiency of 3.92% in the reaction tube without the foam metal materials, a maximum CO2 decomposition rate of 44.84%, 44.02%, and 46.61% and energy efficiency of 6.86%, 6.19%, and 8.85% were obtained in the reaction tubes packed with foam Fe, Al, and Ti, respectively. The CO2 conversion rate for reaction tubes filled with the foam metal materials was clearly enhanced compared to the non-packed tubes. It could be seen that the foam Ti had the best CO2 decomposition rate among the three foam metals. Furthermore, we used density functional theory to further verify the experimental results. The results indicated that CO2 adsorption had a lower activation energy barrier on the foam Ti surface. The theoretical calculation was consistent with the experimental results, which better explain the mechanism of CO2 decomposition.

A Review on the Promising Plasma-Assisted Preparation of Electrocatalysts.

Electrocatalysts are becoming increasingly important for both energy conversion and environmental catalysis. Plasma technology can realize surface etching and heteroatom doping, and generate highly dispersed components and redox species to increase the exposure of the active edge sites so as to improve the surface utilization and catalytic activity. This review summarizes the recent plasma-assisted preparation methods of noble metal catalysts, non-noble metal catalysts, non-metal catalysts, and other electrochemical catalysts, with emphasis on the characteristics of plasma-assisted methods. The influence of the morphology, structure, defect, dopant, and other factors on the catalytic performance of electrocatalysts is discussed.

A Review of Recent Advances of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma in Catalysis.

Dielectric barrier discharge plasma is one of the most popular methods to generate nanthermal plasma, which is made up of a host of high-energy electrons, free radicals, chemically active ions and excited species, so it has the property of being prone to chemical reactions. Due to these unique advantages, the plasma technology has been widely used in the catalytic fields. Compared with the conventional method, the heterogeneous catalyst prepared by plasma technology has good dispersion and smaller particle size, and its catalytic activity, selectivity and stability are significantly improved. In addition, the interaction between plasma and catalyst can achieve synergistic effects, so the catalytic effect is further improved. The review mainly introduces the characteristics of dielectric barrier discharge plasma, development trend and its recent advances in catalysis; then, we sum up the advantages of using plasma technology to prepare catalysts. At the same time, the synergistic effect of plasma technology combined with catalyst on methanation, CH4 reforming, NOx decomposition, H2O2 synthesis, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, volatile organic compounds removal, catalytic sterilization, wastewater treatment and degradation of pesticide residues are discussed. Finally, the properties of plasma in catalytic reaction are summarized, and the application prospect of plasma in the future catalytic field is prospected.

Effective Oxygen Reduction Reaction Performance of FeCo Alloys In Situ Anchored on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon by the Microwave-Assistant Carbon Bath Method and Subsequent Plasma Etching.

Electrocatalysts with strong stability and high electrocatalytic activity have received increasing interest for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) in the cathodes of energy storage and conversion devices, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. However, there are still several bottleneck problems concerning stability, efficiency, and cost, which prevent the development of ORR catalysts. Herein, we prepared bimetal FeCo alloy nanoparticles wrapped in Nitrogen (N)-doped graphitic carbon, using Co-Fe Prussian blue analogs (Co3[Fe(CN)6]2, Co-Fe PBA) by the microwave-assisted carbon bath method (MW-CBM) as a precursor, followed by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment. This novel preparation strategy not only possessed a fast synthesis rate by MW-CBM, but also caused an increase in defect sites by DBD plasma treatment. It is believed that the co-existence of Fe/Co-N sites, rich active sites, core-shell structure, and FeCo alloys could jointly enhance the catalytic activity of ORRs. The obtained catalyst exhibited a positive half-wave potential of 0.88 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and an onset potential of 0.95 V vs. RHE for ORRs. The catalyst showed a higher selectivity and long-term stability than Pt/C towards ORR in alkaline media.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes via Defect-Rich TiO2 Prepared by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma.

The dye wastewater produced in the printing and dyeing industry causes serious harm to the natural environment. TiO2 usually shows photocatalytic degradation of dye under the irradiation ultravilet light rather than visible light. In this work, a large number of oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ defects were generated on the surface of the TiO2 nanoparticles via Ar plasma. Compared with pristine TiO2 nanoparticles, the as-obtained Ar plasma-treated TiO2 (Ar-TiO2) nanoparticles make the energy band gap reduce from 3.21 eV to 3.17 eV and exhibit enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. The Ar-TiO2 obtained exhibited excellent degradation properties of methyl orange (MO); the degradation rate under sunlight irradiation was 99.6% in 30 min, and the photocatalytic performance was about twice that of the original TiO2 nanoparticles (49%). The degradation rate under visible light (λ > 400 nm) irradiation was 89% in 150 min, and the photocatalytic performance of the Ar-TiO2 was approaching ~4 times higher than that of the original TiO2 nanoparticles (23%). Ar-TiO2 also showed good degradation performance in degrading rhodamine B (Rho B) and methylene blue (MB). We believe that this plasma strategy provides a new method for improving the photocatalytic activity of other metal oxides.

[Analysis of trace elements and macro elements in jin he nao xue kang capsules].

Ten trace elements and macro elements in Jin He Nao Xue Kang capsules, such as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed that there are comparatively rich macro element Mg, and profitable elements such as trace elements Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni etc in Jin He Nao Xue Kang capsules. The contents of poisonous elements (Cd and Pb) are comparatively low. The content sequence of metal elements is as follow: Fe>Mg>Zn>Mn>Cu>Ni>Cr>Pb>Co>Cd. It provided useful data for discussing the relationship between trace elements and macro elements in Tibetan traditional medicine, and the cure for vascular and cerebral vascular disease.